Storm brings another snow day

January 31, 2013

MARQUETTE - This latest snowstorm, which closed schools in much of the central and eastern Upper Peninsula today, was a record setter.

The National Weather Service office in Negaunee Township reported the storm that began Wednesday in fact has broken two records for the date of Jan. 30.

A record for preciptation on Jan. 30 was set Wednesday with .69 inches. The previous mark had been .34 inches set in 2001, the NWS reported. As for snowfall at the NWS office in Negaunee Township, the 14.3 inches recorded Wednesday smashed the previous Jan. 30 record of 6.0 inches which had been established in 1984.

Article Photos

Ishpeming City employees work to clear the road of snow on Division Street in front of Ishpeming High School this morning. (Journal photo by Adelle Whitefoot)

"We did have a system that went through," said Jane Marie Wix, a meterologist at the NWS office in Negaunee Township. "Overnight, it turned into lake effect and places to the east of Marquette will continue to get hit. From Munising eastward, there may be 7 inches of new snow in spots today."

Marquette County, however, should see a bit of relief, with 2-4 inches expected along the Lake Superior shoreline, with less than an inch expected in Negaunee, Ishpeming and elsewhere in the county.

What's coming next can be summed up in one word: cold.

Fact Box

Storm snow totals

As of 7 a.m. today (inches)

- Negaunee 17.0

- Munising 14.1

- Alberta 12.1

- Manistique 10.0

- Marquette . 9.5

- Ishpeming . 6.0

Source: National Weather Service

"There is a cold air mass in place and there's some good arctic air coming in," Wix said. "Today, people will start to notice that with highs only in the low teens, even in the single digits in some areas in the western part of Marquette County."

Tonight, Wix said, lows will be in the single digits.

"Then Friday, the highs will be in the single digits above zero, while Friday night, the lows will be in the teens below zero," she said.

This cold snap is expected to continue through the weekend, with the Keweenaw Peninsula and areas east of Munising forecast for some lake effect snow.

"In the Marquette area, we won't see accumulations until maybe Saturday night," Wix said. "There's a system that might bring a little snow, maybe just some flurries."

Temperatures are not expected to warm up until Monday.

For the season, the NWS office in Negaunee Township has received 88.5 inches of snow as of the end of the day Wednesday, which is still far below the normal snowfall total to date, which is 115.2 inches.